Machine fob splitting ratans into strips



2,672 0722* 7457/2 fa L7. ff//fy/ @n l-Ilmiml AM. PHUT-LITMD. E0. NX. (OSBDRNE'S PROCESS) 'i' srLvANUs SAWYER; or FITCHBURG, MASSACHUSETTS.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 12,141, dated January 2, 1855.l

To all whomr't mag/concern.' v Be it known .that I, SYLVANU'S' SAWYER, of Fitchburg, in the countyfof Torcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented a-new and useful Machine for Splitting Ratan into Strips or Parts and Reducing or Finishing side elevation of it; Fig; 3,`is a vert1cal,cen

tral, and' longitudinal section of vit; Figli, is a rear'end view of it; Figf, isa lhori-y zontal section exhibiting the gearing applied to the shafts of the feeding rollers;L Fig; v6, is a vertical section of the guidesto'ck such section being taken transverselyofthe machine andso as to exhibit the movable dies of said stock; Fig. 7, is a front end elevation of the radial Wing cutter and its stock) by which the ratan is reduced to strips of sectoral section; Fig. 8, is a rear end elevation of the said radial wing cutterand its stock;l Fig. 9, is a horizontal section of it taken so` as to exhibit two oppositev springs thereof; Fig. 10, is a front, and Fig. 11, is a reary end view of the cutter and stock for removing the annular strands and yrounding. or dressing the triangular strips or pith sections of the ratan after the outerV parts or strands have been removed; Fig. 12, exhibits a transverse section of a stick of ratan and the manner in which it is first reduced to sectoral strips a, a, a; Fig. 13, denotes a transverse section of such ratan and represents the manner in which each of the. sections, a, of it is divided into two parts by the annular cutter; Fig.'14, exhibits another transverse section of a piece of ratan and the manner in which each of the strips c, c, is reduced by its rounding or finishing cut-ter.

By means of my machine a stick of ratan is not only split into sectoral parts or strips, but each of these strips issubsequently reduced to a strand (for the manufacture of chair seats) and a triangular or sectoral strip which'by the machine is rounded so as to be of use in the manufacture of bonnets or for many other useful purposes in the arts.

Having thus premised, I will nowproceed partsof my inventionfy i' to describethe construction and elementary A"Inthe drawings, IA,-rep'resents theframe-A work by which` the operative parts ofthe .machine are-supported, such framework being ofjany proper form lor material. ;At what ',Iterm'the vfront end ofthe machine there' is-placed an introductory guide',` B, which consists of a frustroconicaltubeforv ymouth piece for the correct introduction of.

a st iclrvoffrataninto 'the bite of the'first 'pair'of1 feed rollers,.C, C; there being of such pairs of feed rollers such a number as occa-y sion may require. These sets/'offeed rollers are arranged horizontallyabove `the top plate of :the frame each roller-being .sustained` upon the upper A.end of av vertical shaft D.

Eachr pair offeed rollerslike those used-in various well knownmachines for splitting ratan is sustained. by vsuchcontrivances o'r mechanism asWill admit'of its two rollers being pressed toward one another by. means of a spring, such spring kbeing shown atl E.'

The shafts of said rollers are sustained, at`

their upper ends, inmovable boxes F, F, that are connected to an upright rod, G, by toggles -or links, The spring, 1E, envelops said rod and forces it downward and thus causes the rollers to be pressed to-v ward one another. A vertical section .of a

pair offeed rollers and the mechanism above feed Vroller shaft isl nalsf such as will admit of the necessarylat-` eral movement of, the shaft supportedvby it-.ck Above theirrocker boxes',each pair of shafts:

isvfitted with gears of equal dimensions las seen'atK, K; those of each pair of shaftsv being made to engage With one another.

A driving gear andthe lconnecting gears N, O, are used in connect-ion with the gears, K, K, of the shafts D, D, on one side of the machine as seen in the drawings, and particularly in Fig. 5, thereof; the said driving gear being mounted upon a driving shaft l?. After passing through the feed rollers by which. it is forced onward, the ratan is introduced into the guide stock, Q, and by it is guided to the radial wing cutter, R. This guide stock consists simply of a circular box, cl, and four movable dies or guides e, e, e, e arranged as seen, in Fig. 6; the said 110 dies being provided with springs, f, f, by which they are forced inward toward one another. Such springs are arranged within the box as represented in Fig. 6. These dies are caused to operate in pairs so that those on the opposite side of the stick of ratan may respectively have the same amount of movement either toward or away from it;V

Q, or between its dies,.the ratan is directed j by them and is forced against a radial wing cutter, It, such cutter being constructed' of a series of chisels 7c, la, k, disposed with their cutting edges in radial directions and fur-1 ther `arranged as seen in Figs.'7, 8, and 9.

Between each adjacent two of thecntters there is a spring, l, which is affixed.y to the cylindrical, tubular box, m, by which the radial wing cutterissustained. The said spring, Z, .serves to force a sectoral strip of cane close down into the angle ofthe cutters bet-Ween which said strip is placed, `and thereby insure the proper direction of the strip to the annularcutter, S;

The' radial wing cutter separates the ratan into sectoral strips or parts as seen at a, a, a in Fig. 12. In rear of the said radial wing cutter is arranged the said annularV or tubular cutter, S, whichis supported by and in a tubular stock, T, and with its axis in line of that of the radial wing cutter.y The front end of this annular cutter or that next to the wing cutter should be ground sharp, and it may be either circular, triangular, or polygonal in shape as occasion may require, the object of such annular cutter bei to separate from each ofthe several sections a, a, a, of ratan what is usually termed the strand, l), see Fig. 13. Such strand having on its outer surface the enamel or silicious covering of the ratan. Within the annular ring cutter there is arranged a series of tubular cutters, fn, n, n, as seen in Figs. 10 and 11, and also in Fig: 3. The 'object of these tubular cutters is to round off the angles of the parts or triangular portions, o, c (Fig. 13) of the pith or middle part of the ratan, and to finish such parts, (c, 6,) so as to render them available as hereinbefore mentoned. Heretofore it has been customary either to use the pith of the ratan in a solid Aor cylindrical shape, or to separate the whole ordressed so as toVV render it` an article of use j as hereinbefore stated.

I-Iaving lthus described machine, I"

would remark that I do notI confine my invention to .the precise form or construction of any one or more of its parts so long as I do not substantially change the character or principle of my invention.

What therefore I claim in the same isf* `1. A combinationof mechanism forfsplitting 'the ratan into sectoral strips and a mechanism for removing annular or segment-al strands therefrom substantially as above specified.

*2. I also claim aV combination of mechanism for'splitting a stick of ratan into sectoral, or triangularparts or` strips, and a mechanism for rounding and dressing `or finishing either one or more such Vst-rips substantially as specified. j

3. I also claim a combination of mechanism for l splitting v a ratan into sectoral parts or strips, a mechanism for removing or separating from suchparts annular or segmental strands as specified, and mechanism for rounding, reducing or finishing either one or morefor all of the triangular strips or part-s of the pith or inside portions of the ratan as specified. y

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my signature this eleventh day, of October A. D. 1854:.

SYLVANUS. SAWYER.

Witnesses:

R. I-I; EDDY, F. P. HALE, Jr. 

